Tinder reports another heartbreaking decline, but investors choose to settle anyway

Match Group, the company that owns dating apps including Tinder and OkCupid, is still struggling to convince people to pay for its services.

The company makes the bulk of its money from charging users subscription fees for access to premium features. The number of people willing to do that declined by 5% in its most recent quarter, the company reported Tuesday, continuing a downward trend that started in 2022.

The number of paying users for its most popular product, Tinder, declined 8% to 9.6 million. Hinge, which has become its fastest growing product, saw paid users up 24% to nearly 1.5 million.

While paid users fuel the company's revenues, their decline doesn't necessarily mean the company is bleeding cash. Revenue was up 4%, because while fewer users are paying, those who do are spending 9% more on average at $19.05.

Match’s financials beat Wall Street estimates, pushing its stock price up more than 7% in after-hours trading.

But as other companies have learned, consumers aren’t very happy paying more forever.

Correction at 5:24 p.m. on July 31, 2024: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Tinder’s brand suffered the steepest decline in users yet. The language has been removed.